Under some circumstances, within the 5G mobile access architecture, a network function module (e.g., a virtualized network function (VNF) handler/forwarder) of a user plane function (UPF) node handles very high data rates and is often hosted on infrastructure that contains a switch (e.g., a virtual switch).
In these cases, packets are typically processed at least two times after being received at a network interface of the UPF node: once by the switch, and again by the application running in the network function module that forwards the packets and optionally performs some light touch processing. To this end, there is a performance penalty associated with sending packets to the network function module or container for processing as the packets traverse the network interface, switch, and network function module. Some transactions, such as general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) encapsulation/decapsulation and network service header (NSH) processing, could be done more efficiently if handled by the network function virtualization infrastructure (NFVI) forwarder or a network interface (e.g., a network interface card (NIC)) of the UPF node instead of by the network function module.
However, programming the switch to handle internet protocol (IP) flows that are very frequent and often transient by way of a software defined network (SDN) controller is both unscalable and time intensive due to the latency involved in sending controls signals between the SDN controller and the switch. Furthermore, access to the NFVI from a network function module or associated application is usually not permitted under most network function virtualization (NFV) and data center policies due to security concerns.
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